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NAME

       fdupes - finds duplicate files in a given set of directories

SYNOPSIS

       fdupes [ options ] DIRECTORY ...

DESCRIPTION

       Searches  the  given  path for duplicate files. Such files are found by
       comparing file sizes and MD5 signatures,  followed  by  a  byte-by-byte
       comparison.

OPTIONS

       -r --recurse
              for  every  directory  given  follow  subdirectories encountered
              within

       -R --recurse:
              for each directory given after this option follow subdirectories
              encountered  within  (note the ’:’ at the end of option; see the
              Examples section below for further explanation)

       -s --symlinks
              follow symlinked directories

       -H --hardlinks
              normally, when two or more files point to  the  same  disk  area
              they are treated as non-duplicates; this option will change this
              behavior

       -n --noempty
              exclude zero-length files from consideration

       -f --omitfirst
              omit the first file in each set of matches

       -A --nohidden
              exclude hidden files from consideration

       -1 --sameline
              list each set of matches on a single line

       -S --size
              show size of duplicate files

       -m --summarize
              summarize duplicate files information

       -q --quiet
              hide progress indicator

       -d --delete
              prompt user for files to  preserve,  deleting  all  others  (see
              CAVEATS below)

       -L --hardlink
              replace  all duplicate files with hardlinks to the first file in
              each set of duplicates

       -N --noprompt
              when used together with --delete, preserve  the  first  file  in
              each  set  of duplicates and delete the others without prompting
              the user

       -D --debug
              provide debugging information

       -v --version
              display fdupes version

       -h --help
              displays help

SEE ALSO

       md5sum(1)

NOTES

       Unless -1 or  --sameline  is  specified,  duplicate  files  are  listed
       together  in groups, each file displayed on a separate line. The groups
       are then separated from each other by blank lines.

       When -1 or --sameline is specified,  spaces  and  backslash  characters
       (\) appearing in a filename are preceded by a backslash character.

EXAMPLES

       fdupes a --recurse: b
              will follow subdirectories under b, but not those under a.

       fdupes a --recurse b
              will follow subdirectories under both a and b.

CAVEATS

       If  fdupes returns with an error message such as fdupes: error invoking
       md5sum it means the program  has  been  compiled  to  use  an  external
       program  to  calculate  MD5 signatures (otherwise, fdupes uses internal
       routines for this purpose), and an error has occurred while  attempting
       to  execute  it.  If  this is the case, the specified program should be
       properly installed prior to running fdupes.

       When using -d or --delete, care  should  be  taken  to  insure  against
       accidental data loss.

       When  used  together  with  options  -s  or  --symlink,  a  user  could
       accidentally preserve a symlink while deleting the file it points to.

       Furthermore, when specifying a particular directory more than once, all
       files  within  that  directory  will be listed as their own duplicates,
       leading to data  loss  should  a  user  preserve  a  file  without  its
       "duplicate" (the file itself!).

AUTHOR

       Adrian Lopez <adrian2@caribe.net>